In his cookbook, Eating Royally, Lady Di's former private chef Darren McGrady reveals what it takes to make the "Best Bread Pudding in the World".
Princess Diana was a global icon who won the hearts of millions, bringing the royal family into the pop cultural spotlight in the 1990s. Even today, the public remains fascinated by every detail of her life – including her favorite dishes.
And one man in particular has quite a bit to say about that: Her former private chef Darren McGrady. In his 2007 book, Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen, McGrady reveals which dishes were particularly popular among the royal family.
One of these was his version of the popular bread pudding. The classic we all know and love consists of slices of white bread soaked in vanilla egg cream and baked into a dense, moist cake. While popular in both the US and German-speaking countries, it is considered a real comfort food in the UK. According to McGrady, Princess Diana had a soft spot for Irish bread and butter pudding – but she still called his take the "best bread pudding in the world".
McGrady's version starts with a layer of bread cubes, topped with raisins soaked in Amaretto, with white bread triangles placed on top. This layering creates a more delicate, melt-in-the-mouth texture, in contrast to the denser, cake-like bread pudding that is common stateside. The caramelized sugar crust adds a crunchy contrast to the creamy interior. Unlike more traditional recipes where the bread and other ingredients are soaked in vanilla cream, here the slices are dipped in butter before baking, with the vanilla cream poured over them afterwards for a particularly layered texture . The result is a dessert that not only delighted Princess Diana, but still enchants: creamy, buttery, with delicate layers of bread and aromatic amaretto raisins.
